[THE INVESTOR] State prosecutors on July 14 raided several offices of the Korea Aerospace Industries on allegations of corruption in a defense project.

Investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office searched the KAI headquarters in Sacheon, 437 kilometers south of Seoul, and its office in Seoul for evidence related to the allegations that it manipulated development funds and pocketed illicit gains in the process.

“We cannot tell you about specific charges or what is being investigated for now, but we are comprehensively looking at various issues, including the allegations of illicit gains from the development cost,” a prosecution official said, declining to be named.

The raid came as the Moon Jae-in government has vowed to stamp out deep-seated corruption in the defense industry, long blamed for eroding the country‘s military capabilities.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)